I picked these tires up used wanting to experiment with a Urban/MTB tire. They had about 30 miles on them to start and I put just sightly over 100 miles my self (80% trail riding). I have cruised around down town Dallas, up/Down Katey trail (paved rec trail), and ridden 3 different mtb trails in the metroplex.

Cons: for obvious reason the Holly Rollers don't really preform well in mud, water, and sand. They will sometimes slip while leaning the bike real low in corners on hard packed trails.

Pros: durable, light weight, low resistance for street and hard pack trails. I mentioned water as a con but I have zero issues crossing small streams..

Over all I highly recommend these tires for the Urban Commando who is looking for both a solid commuting tire and an offroading tire for that occasional construction zone or short cut through vacant lots etc.

Weaknesses: Week tire too expensive wears quickly highly susceptible to bubbles from coming down on an angle...not nearly as good as the dmr moot that tire is much better cost strength all around

Bottom Line:

Week tire not impressed and rather dissappointed from maxxis

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by
phdinfunk
a Weekend Warrior
from Puli, Nantou County, Taiwan

Date Reviewed: March 11, 2012

Strengths: Rolls well over nearly anything. Good traction. Good bounce.

Weaknesses: Heavy.

Bottom Line:

I'm using this as a front tire. Still using Kenda Kwik Roller on the rear for lower resistance where my weight sits.

I went out and rode 40k of backcountry mountainous Taiwan roads with this new tire on a rainy day.

Holy Roller was noticeably heavier than my previous Kenda KwikRoller front tire. I don't think the holy roller gets a lot of road resistance because I felt the weight on acceleration but it seemed to want to keep the momentum after I got it going. I have it near Max PSI.

I absolutely LOVED the fact that it stuck to the pavement everywhere and I could roll over uneven roads, rocks, cracks in the pavement, grooves in poorly-poured concrete farm roads... basically anything. Where I live, there are a lot of adventurous roads and single track.... not a lot of really high-quality roads. This tire improved my feeling of confidence on my bike. I tested it before my ride by breaking hard and also riding in some parking lots with gravelly old pavement or just sand and gravel. I also tested it riding over a lot of uneven ground, changes in pavement, etc.

I even did an intense little experiment. Outside of a temple are some marble steps about 2" high. I hit that wet marble at a very acute angle. The holy roller slid for a couple of inches little then caught and went up it. However, my Kenda in the rear slid hopelessly along the obstacle until I was much closer to straight on. It matters less in the rear though, as I'm fine with it sliding a bit (and I don't usually drive on wet polished marble). My Front Kenda had been sliding like this on uneven pavement and catching grooves in bad concrete for the last several months... Front tire slides = bad.

Overall I'm happy with this tire, drove faster with it, felt more comfortable with it, and believe I will keep it on this bicycle for a long time. I don't really think I would need a tire like this if I was just riding around town, or sticking to well-maintained roads. If I go for a very long ride on good roads, I will consider changing tires back to the Kenda. But for riding around stony cracked up concrete, old farm roads, rocky and sandy singletrack, this seems to give me what I was looking for.

Weaknesses: Probly not good in the mud but that is obvious, so, no weakness. Perfect tire for what its designed for.

Bottom Line:

If you use your bike for commuting as well as recreation off road, I don't think there is a better tire. Looks like a semi slick almost, but grips like crazy. I have no issues at all. I don't think it is UST though and some folks migh not like that. I personally like tubes and never want to go tubeless so it's not an issue for me. Awsome tire, buy one now.

So far, I am very impressed with the 26x2.2 version of this tire. Bought them on a whim just to complete my Chap, and I don't regret it.

Took them out to a kind of jack-of-all-trades trail with a lot of slow ups, fast downs, and curly switchbacks. Only had a few threats of washing out over the downed leaves, and had a couple of rear wheel slips over roots while climbing, but they held true 95% of the time.

Taking drops and jumping with these feels like I am hitting a cloud, not accounting for the 5" travel of my frame. And even some of the longer DH runs felt perfectly fine on these, where previously, I was only fine on my Sunday with 2.5 Nevegals.

They do like to launch rocks and sticks in every direction if you hit them on the side part of the tread, though, so watch out.

Overall, I would recommend these for nearly anyone. XC over hardpack and rocks, Jumping in loose or grass, DH through gravel and dust, even commuting and touring wouldn't be too bad on these. They are definitely my new favorite tire.

Submitted by
clarkenstein
a Cross Country Rider
from Somerset, NJ, USA

Date Reviewed: September 29, 2011

Strengths: Sticky - like a 5.10 shoe for your wheels

Weaknesses: Weight

Bottom Line:

This tire is great for street. I was using knobbies for my urban riding and they are significantly faster, quieter, and they actually helped inspire a little more confidence in my riding just because I feel like they stick to everything I ride on.

I did take them out on singletrack and I will say, they did really well for me. It was a damp day, and there was some sections of mud on the trail. They held their line great 90% of the time. I had no issues going over slick roots or rocks, but when I hit a patch of mud, they were totally worthless. They shed mud instantly, but it's like riding on ice. I found just going as fast as possible through the mud made it easier, they just skated through, but if you have to turn, they are totally unpredictable in the muck. Otherwise, in damp/tacky soil they were actually pretty good for an x/c ride.

Weaknesses: Maybe a bit too much rolling resistance as front tire. Very little though

Bottom Line:

Superb rear tire! Longlasting is the thing that stands out the most. Very grippy too though and very effective even when pedalling very hard with clips. Oh, did I mention, very longlasting. Used the same tire for over a year now and it still looks almost like new. I'm very brutal with my tires.

Weaknesses: nothing ive found yet, and i dont think i will find anything!

Bottom Line:

this is by far the bestest looking, highest peforming and the best valued urban/dirt jump tyre on the market today! out performs the K-rad and small block 8 by a long shot and wears great. no loss of grip in wet or loose gravel, but stay away from mud, gets abit slippery...overall, BUY THESE TYRES!!!

Weaknesses: I have them in 26" and there just not great at any thing not real off road and not great for on. I guess I'm hooked on tires that you can run at allot of diff pressures and this one likes to be at max or else it dosnt corner well and I think it has allot of drag for the traction it provides.

Bottom Line:

I prob should have asked around more but by reading the reviews I thought they would be a little better.

Strengths: Very durable, long lasting, high traction and wonderful grip.

Weaknesses: A little squishy for the larger sizes, Other than that they’re grate.

Bottom Line:

These tires are the cat’s meow. They are perfect all around tires and have never let me down. These tires are ideal for the commuter, street rider or hard core dirt jumper. I have found no issues with the traction when they are wet un like other tires like them.

the bottom line is that there is no reason you shouldnt be running these tires. these tires have great tread life great in wet/dry weather not so much mud but everything else its amazing i have only had one pinch flat since using these tires due to the fact that i forgot to fill my tires up before i went to the park and my tire went flat when i landed a 5 stair drop but since then i have had no problem with them since so here it is BUY THESE TIRES!!!!!!!!!!!

I love this tire. I'm 230 lbs and have not had a pinch flat.
I run the rear at max pressure no matter what terrain I'm riding. I do However Change the Front out to a Nevegal for Singletrack. It's pretty sandy here and the rear provide plenty of forward bite while climbing out of the saddle.
On blue groove hard pack and cement the 2.4 front 2.2 rear combo is unbeatable.

Strengths: they're supple, roll fast, and are durable. great for urban and even some trails.

Weaknesses: heavy maybe.

Bottom Line:

i wish i woulda got another pair of these tires instead of the wtb's. they're like half the price. i have not had a problem w/ pinch flats, though i do not ride hard. i do however, weigh 260. they work pretty good on hardpack trails. mud, yes, its like ice. those little holes pack up quick, and turn your tire effectively bald. but they also shed mud quickly. they do slide off roots so not good for those either. but i love them. i highly recommend these tires for urban, or dry trails with a minimal amount of roots.

Weaknesses: None so far; but any tire will slip in the right conditions.

Bottom Line:

These are great tires; If I were you I would break in any tire on the street because I think that manufactures use something to keep the tire from sticking to the mold and once you break through that they will grip better. Discount tire told me this about car tires and why should mtb tire be any different? These tires also grip better and hold a clean line when the trail goes from hardpack to those wooden plank bridges. The reviewers here said that the were great tires and I just happened to get to a mtb trail without changing tires and they did well.

Similar Products Used: First street tire used on my 26" mountain bike ; that's right I have run these on my mountain bike and they do a better job all around the dry trails than the CST tires that came on the bike.

Bike Setup: 2007 cannondale rush 5 with avid ellixir cr 203mm's and an SLX front crank; by the way the breaks are great and the SLX crank is solid.

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